Run Along Chetco Cove

We left our room and began jogging on the road across the harbor. We inhaled fresh morning air and enjoyed misty fog that hung over the masts of the boats.
 
Two Columbian black-tailed deer walked down the hill near our hotel, feeding on grass. That would be a good omen.
 
We ran along the west side of the harbor and to the jetty where the Chetco River meets the Pacific Ocean. There we stopped and stretched our waking muscles.
 

My daughter, Jenna, has made the goal to run in as many states as possible. We couldn't pass up Oregon. And it was a good excuse to work our muscles after endless hours in a car.
 
I sat and leaned and pulled on one side, then repeated on the other. Thighs, calves, quads, piriformis. Then I was ready to go.
 
A sea lion lay asleep below us, not yet up and moving at this early hour. Another good omen.
 
We ran along the beach, just far enough away that the crawling foam of the water couldn't reach our feet. The black sand felt like running on a sponge.
 
Seagulls squawked and flew above us. A man and his golden lab walked alongside, the dog frolicking in the water. We passed an early-morning fisherman with a long pole with his taut line cast into the ocean.
 
Our muscles were now loosening and our stride became a rhythm and everything felt in place. The fresh scent of ocean permeated everything and took the edge off of any discomfort we may have felt.
 
At the far south end of the beach, at a place that appeared to be the terminus of our sandy stretch, we found an arch in the rock wall—and a passage to the other side! We entered the portal and found ourselves on a new beach with a new stretch of sand.
 

But this morning was not all about the run. It was about the experience. There before us sat a tide pool begging to be explored.
 
While still panting we discovered all sorts of sea creatures. Jenna found the first of many starfish. In orange and blue and red the curious critters attached themselves to the rock and sat motionless, letting the incoming waves lap over them.
 
Anemones—by the hundreds—surrounded the star fish. If you didn't look closely you could miss them. They camouflaged well. Some were small, the size of a quarter, and others large like a softball. Their trunks attached to the rock, and they were soft to the touch like a marshmallow. Most of these small sea creatures remained closed, appearing as mere bumps on the rock. Several had opened their tentacles, shimmering colorfully in the water.
 

We sat at the edge of the pool, careful not to soak our shoes. What an array of sea life! On every rock there seemed to be hundreds of creatures, including mussels and other colorful shells.
 
To top things off we found a waterfall pouring off a cliff. The fog remained, shrouding the sea stacks and the spruce trees on the hills of the shore. We chose to run to the end of this second beach where we turned around.
 
This world is full of so many beautiful places. This morning our run probably stretched only a mile in one direction. Considering how pretty it was, it boggles my mind to imagine this stretch of coastline, multiplied by the total coastline of the planet! There is so much to see, and so little time to waste. How much more valuable is it then to share it with someone we love. ♠